Historic converted chapel in the Clare Valley comes with income potential

A Methodist Bible Christian Chapel was built on the site in 1862, which later served as a school from 1868 to 1910.

A stone school teacher’s residence was constructed at the same time and retains its original fireplace with wooden mantle.

Ms Browse said that the chapel was built by a Mr Peacock on land donated by Malachi Brian.

“[Peacock] favoured a Gothic-style design with two windows down each side and an outside measurement of 30 by 20 feet [nine by six metres]. The walls were 20 inches [50 centimetres] thick! The floor joists were of native pine and trimmed, with an adze, to perfection. Imported baltic tongue-and-groove was used for the floor,” she said.

Malachi Brian has the oldest headstone in the nearby cemetery, which was vested to the local council in 1903 and to this day is a public cemetery.

The chapel was converted into a function space by the previous owners in 1999 and the location has been a popular spot for weddings, with the current owner having had his own wedding there.

“The Clare Valley wine region is a very popular wedding venue, the wedding season runs from September through to April. There are a lot of cellar doors in the area and in fact the Riesling Trail starts in Auburn and you cross the trail in order to get to Skilly Chapel Road,” Ms Browse said.

The chapel is audio-equipped and there’s also an underground dry cellar.

A modern extension was added by the current owners in 2010, connecting the teacher’s house with the chapel and adding additional living areas and bedrooms.

The property has been used primarily as a home since then, but the flexible floor plan means the chapel could easily revert to use as a function centre.

“It’s a really wide net that we’ve put out there. It could either be for someone to come in and turn it back in to a commercial venture. You could live there and have a B&B in the original school teacher’s residence – there are endless possibilities,” said Ms Browse, who declined to give a price guide.

Any accommodation venture would likely be well received, with the Clare Valley an increasingly popular tourist destination.

“There are plenty of bushwalkers and mountain bike riders visiting the area. I know that this particular owner has also entertained painting groups as well.”

In addition to hospitality ventures, the carob and olive plantations on the 40.87-hectare property could also be commercialised.

There are about 750 carob trees and 1000 olive trees, a mix of Frantoio and Leccino varieties.

Other features of the property include a bore, rainwater storage and an “Envirocycle” septic system and two large sheds, one of which boasts its own self-contained accommodation.

“The shedding provides additional accommodation for workers, so if a new owner did decide to work the olives there is accommodation there with kitchen and bathroom.”